Aurelia Butler

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    in Boxing

    I’m the greatest women boxer of all time… but now I want to be a world champion in a different sport

    CLARESSA SHIELDS is not shy of boasting about being the greatest women’s boxer of all time – but now she wants to go a step further. Shields has an almost unmatched CV in the sport, with double Olympic gold medals, two undisputed titles and belts in three different divisions to her name.
    Claressa Shields calls herself the ‘Greatest Woman of All Time’ in the ringCredit: Getty – Contributor
    But Shields has also crossed over to boxing
    But the outspoken American looked to better her legacy even further by crossing over to MMA in 2021 with the Professional Fighters League.
    Shields, unbeaten in boxing, is 1-1 in MMA but insisted she did not swap the boxing ring for the cage just to experiment.
    Instead, she wants to become a two-sport world champion as she sets her sights on the PFL title and the history that comes with it.
    She told SunSport: “That’s the ultimate goal. Manifestation is real, I believe in two or three years I will be fighting for the PFL world championship.
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    “I’ll still be a boxing world champion and the same time. So the goal is to be boxing world champion and be PFL champion at the same time.
    “And after that, I’d probably wash my hands with MMA but that’s the bigger goal.”
    Shields won her MMA debut by beating Brittney Elkin but she then suffered defeat for the first time since her amateur boxing days against Abigail Montes.
    She has not returned to the cage since, instead picking up a trio of boxing wins, including against arch rival Savannah Marshall.
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    But now Shields has her eyes on the PFL’s season, where stars fight in qualifying and knockout stages over four bouts to win the title and $1m cash prize.
    But more than just the money, Shields believes actively holding titles in both sports – which would be a historic first – cements her place as the best to ever do it.
    Anthony Joshua vows to win the undisputed title after Francis Ngannou fight
    She said: “Well, I’m already the greatest woman of all time in boxing, we know that.
    “But to be able to come over to a whole different sport in the prime of my career and win, when I’m able to win the PFL world championship, I think that ranks me as the greatest combat sports person ever.
    “And not even woman. I don’t know any champion who can do what I’m doing right now.
    “So I believe in three years when I actually get in the PFL tournament and I fight for the PFL world championship, when I win that rates me as the greatest combat sports person in history.”
    Shields makes her MMA return on Saturday in Riyadh against Kelsey DeSantis on the PFL vs Bellator undercard. More

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    in Boxing

    Anthony Joshua gives brutal response after Francis Ngannou boasts about flooring Tyson Fury

    ANTHONY JOSHUA brutally shut Francis Ngannou down following a boast about flooring Tyson Fury. AJ faces the ex-UFC champion on March 8 in what will be only Ngannou’s second professional boxing bout.
    Anthony Joshua shut Francis Ngannou down following a boast about flooring Tyson Fury
    Ngannou was confronted by AJ in a face to face
    Ngannou dropped Tyson Fury on his boxing debutCredit: Getty
    In his debut in October, he astonishingly floored Fury but it was not enough to avoid a controversial split-decision loss.
    Ngannou still takes confidence from the performance and knockdown – which he doubts Joshua would have come back from.
    He said in a DAZN face to face: “Yeah, I have a doubt about that. Tyson showed that he’s very resilient.
    “I saw him come back from a knockdown that you wouldn’t believe.
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    “So I think he’s probably one of the most resistant person out there, and that’s not a disrespect to AJ.
    “I don’t believe that AJ would take what Tyson did.”
    But Joshua – with a stoic glare – hit back at Ngannou: “Who hasn’t knocked Tyson down? So many people have knocked Tyson down.”
    Fury, 35, has been floored seven times in his career but bounced back to his feet every time to remain undefeated.
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    Joshua was due to face Deontay Wilder, 38, in March but the deal went up in smoke after the American’s shock loss to Joseph Parker.
    And Ngannou, 37, was denied a rematch with Fury, who instead moved on to an undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk, now set for May 18.
    Anthony Joshua vows to win the undisputed title after Francis Ngannou fight
    So Saudi boxing chiefs acted fast to match the giant heavyweight pair together for another crossover clash in Riyadh.
    Joshua, 34, said: “They spoke about this fight before and I said ‘no, it’s a gimmick fight, it’s not something that I think is right — crossing over when I’m still chasing heavyweight glory’.

    “And then I think when they saw what happened with his last fight, the situation with Wilder, this opportunity presented itself.
    “I never turned down a challenge and I’m looking forward to it.”
    Joshua faces Ngannou on March 8Credit: PA More

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    in Boxing

    KSI branded ‘the Donald Trump of boxing’ after guest appearance on Jonathan Ross

    KSI was branded “the Donald Trump of boxing” on The Jonathan Ross show for refusing to accept his defeat to Tommy Fury. The YouTuber-turned boxer was controversially beaten on points by Fury in October in his first loss in the ring.
    KSI was branded ‘the Donald Trump of boxing’
    Trump famously refused to accept defeat in the 2020 electionCredit: AP
    Tommy Fury edged past KSI in a controversial decisionCredit: GETTY
    He was fuming with the decision and suffered a further setback when his appeal to overturn the result was denied.
    KSI was probed on the fight by TV host Ross, who asked: “You were undefeated until you fought – and you will know him from Love Island – Tommy Fury in the ring and then you lost on points.”
    But the social media sensation replied: “Well, I technically don’t believe that I lost. I still think I won.”
    Comedian Jack Whitehall then compared KSI to former American president Donald Trump.
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    Trump infamously refused to concede defeat in the 2020 election to Joe Biden and instead blamed it on a baseless conspiracy.
    Whitehall quipped: “You’re like the Donald Trump of boxing.”
    KSI let out a laugh but doubled down when told “delusion is a great thing.”
    He said: “Yes, it definitely is. But I didn’t lose.”
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    KSI initially announced plans to take time out of boxing following the heartbreak of his first defeat.
    He has since confirmed he WILL fight again this year, eyeing a summer return, but remained cryptic when asked by Ross.
    He said: “You never know. I might dibble and dabble. I might fight again this year.”
    KSI’s manager Mams Taylor refuses to rule out Tommy Fury rematch More

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    Apollonia Llewellyn puts on busty display in barely-there bikini as fans say ‘you’re getting more and more beautiful’

    APOLLONIA LLEWELLYN was lavished with compliments from her fans after sharing a holiday photo.The boxing ring girl is now a well-seasoned traveller and posted a throwback of her visit to the Greek island of Santorini last year.
    Apollonia Llewellyn wowed fans with a throwback snap from a trip to SantoriniCredit: Instagram
    The ring girl is no stranger to posing in skimpy bikinisCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    Apollonia loves flaunting her good looks on social mediaCredit: instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    Apollonia, 23, jet sets around the world and often shares pics from LA, as well as Switzerland, France and Spain.
    And her racy snaps always get fans talking, with many showering Apollonia with praise following her latest bikini post.
    The Yorkshire stunner posed in a blue and white bra that left little to the imagination alongside a skimpy thong which she covered with a tiny miniskirt.
    Fans loved the look with one saying: “Excellent 🔥”
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    Another added: “Damn you look good!!!😍”
    A third wrote: “Very gorgeous 😍”
    And another commented: “Stunning!! 🔥🥰”
    Apollonia recently wowed fans by flaunting her curves in a tiny thong bikini while taking a dip in a swimming pool.
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    She recently wowed her fans on a trip to a spaCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    Apollonia is closing in on 600,000 followersCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    Last week she gifted her fans with an early Valentine’s present by flashing her underboob in a see-through red lingerie set.
    A separate post saw her dubbed the “hottest babe in the world” after almost bursting out of another tiny bikini.
    Boxing ring girl Apollonia Llewellyn’s breasts in tight black and white PVC jumpsuit
    Inside Apollonia’s glamorous life as influencer, ring girl and model …
    Apollonia burst out of this tiny silver bikini as she drank her ‘morning juice’Credit: INSTAGRAM
    Conor McGregor was among 8,000 fans who enjoyed this see-through lacy outfitCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Thousands of Apollonia’s fans enjoyed the view on the ring girl’s holiday to New YorkCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Apollonia braved the snow in the Lake DistrictCredit: Instagram
    Apollonia really enjoyed this bowl of pasta on her summer holiday to SantoriniCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Apollonia invited fans to ‘sit and stare’ at this picture, and thousands took her up on the invitationCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Fans were worried Apollonia’s top had shrunk in the wash as she enjoyed this hearty breakfastCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Apollonia’s followers were in awe of the stunner’s new hairdo as she wowed in a tiny yellow bikiniCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Apollonia sent a cheeky message to her fans as she posed in this glamorous see-through numberCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Apollonia told fans ‘no caption needed’ as she squeezed into this skin-tight see-through playsuitCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Apollonia revealed he ‘idea of happiness’ is being ‘wind swept on the beach’ with this busty snapCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Apollonia left very little to the imagination as she ‘brightened fans’ Mondays’ in a skimpy wet T-shirtCredit: INSTAGRAM
    Apollonia shot to recognition as a member of the Misfits Boxing fight night team
    She has garnered her a huge social media presenceCredit: INSTAGRAM @apolloniallewellyn
    Apollonia has an army of Instagram followersCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    She has turned down a staggering £100,000 to pose nude beforeCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    The model insisted she isn’t money-orientedCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    Apollonia shows off her jet setting lifestyle onlineCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    She also holidayed in New YorkCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    Apollonia is no stranger to a bikini pictureCredit: INSTAGRAM @apolloniallewellyn
    She has built a huge following on social mediaCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn
    Apollonia works as a model alongside her social fameCredit: Instagram @apolloniallewellyn More

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    in Boxing

    ‘I feel bad for Francis Ngannou’, says worried fans after Anthony Joshua shows off lean shape ahead of fight

    ANTHONY JOSHUA has fans already feeling sorry for Francis Ngannou after giving an inside look into his training camp. Joshua returns on March 8 in Saudi Arabia against Ngannou, who only made his boxing debut in October against Tyson Fury.
    Anthony Joshua in training to fight Francis NgannouCredit: @anthonyjoshua
    AJ had fans fearing the worst for NgannouCredit: @anthonyjoshua
    And he has been preparing for the crossover bout at new trainer Ben Davison’s gym in Harlow.
    AJ uploaded a snap in all black with a menacing look on his face – leaving some fans fearing the worst for Ngannou.
    One said: “I really feel bad for that Francis guy cause you’re ready.”
    Another added: “I feel bad for Francis he will feel the heat.”
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    One agreed: “Those eyes say it all.”
    Joshua, 34, stopped Otto Wallin, 32, in five rounds in his last fight in December, his first under coach Davison.
    Meanwhile Ngannou, 35, dropped Fury, 37, on his boxing debut but lost a controversial split-decision.
    It was still enough for him to earn the bout with AJ, filling in for Deontay Wilder, 38, after the American lost to Joseph Parker, 32.
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    Many were shocked by Ngannou’s performance and knockdown of Fury – but not Joshua.
    He said during a DAZN face to face: “I think if I box Tyson Fury a lot of similarities will happen in the fight so I am not surprised at all in terms of his style, who Fury is, it’s just a boxing match.
    “Well done to both of them, they put on an entertaining fight but that’s in the past. That’s how boxing is, and we move forward now.”
    Francis Ngannou undergoes brutal strength and condition training session for Anthony Joshua showdown More

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    in Athletics

    Olympics athletic event may never look the same with plans to trial radical new format

    THE LONG jump competition will undergo a radical change – as athletes take a leap of faith into the future.World Athletics bosses are trialling a new format where long jumpers use a “take-off zone” rather than a take-off board.
    World Athletics chiefs are planning major changes in the long jump eventCredit: Keith Campbell – The Sun Glasgow
    Trials will start taking place in the lower competitionsCredit: Getty
    Long jumpers will use a “take-off zone” rather than a take-off board.Credit: Getty
    Data collected during the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest showed that a THIRD of all attempts were recorded as no-jumps.
    The rule experiment will take place throughout this year in lower-level competitions and jumps will be measured from the front of the take-off foot within that zone.
    If the tests are successful – and if the competitors fully embrace and love the concept – then it could become permanent for the event from 2026 onwards.
    Jon Ridgeon, 57, a former British athlete and now CEO of World Athletics, said: “We’re looking at all of the disciplines, particularly the field events, and going: ‘Right, how do we make them better?’
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    “At the World Championships in Budapest last summer, a third of all the jumps were no-jumps where athletes stepped over the front of the take-off board.
    “Well, that doesn’t work. That’s a waste of time. So we’re testing at the moment a take-off zone rather than a take-off board.
    “We’ll measure from where the athlete takes off to where they land in the pit.
    “That means every single jump counts. It adds to the jeopardy and drama in the competition.
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    “At the same time we’re working out ways we can get instant results so you don’t have to wait 20-30 seconds before the result pops up.
    “How can we speed up the whole competition? It’s a whole range of innovation we’re looking at based on hopefully robust data.”
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    Britain have had three Olympic long jump champions – Mary Rand (1964), Lynn Davies (1964) and Greg Rutherford (2012).
    The men’s world record is 8.95 metres set by American Mike Powell in Tokyo in 1991 while the top women’s mark of 7.52 metres was established in 1988 by Russian Galina Chistyakova.
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    Ridgeon – who won 110 hurdles silver at the 1987 World Championships in Rome ahead of Colin Jackson – accepts that the traditionalists may not be happy.
    Especially as the event was part of the 1896 Olympics for the men while women starting jumping at the 1948 London Games.
    Speaking on the Great British Bosses series on the Anything but Footy podcast, he said: “We’ll spend this year testing it in real life circumstances with very good athletes.
    “If it doesn’t pass testing, we’ll never introduce it.
    Measures have to pass testing
    “So, we aren’t going to introduce things on a whim because one of us thinks it’s a good idea.
    “Yes, it’s going to be based on good data. Yes, we’re going to test it really well.
    “If you have dedicated your life to hitting that take-off board perfectly and then suddenly we replace it with a take-off zone, I totally get that there might be initial resistance.
    “As long as it is based on good testing and good data, I think eventually it’ll work through.
    “It will not be without its controversy. You cannot make change in a sport that was basically invented 150 years ago without some controversy. But I think it’s worth doing.
    “Ultimately this is about not this year, but making sure we have got a sport that is hopefully fit for purpose for another 150 years.”
    In the summer of 2026, World Athletics will introduce a new global competition that will run in the years where there are no World Championships or Olympic Games.
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    This World Cup of Athletics will be staged with countries pitted against each other in semi-final and final stages. The host city will be announced this year.
    + Listen to the whole interview which is part of the Great British Bosses series on the Anything but Footy podcast More

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    in Boxing

    Fans say Eddie Hearn ‘will be fighting in Misfits soon’ as he leaves Love Island star stunned with body transformation

    EDDIE HEARN has fans convinced he will be fighting on Misfits after showing off his body transformation. The boxing promoter has been on a health kick over the past 18 months having lost two stone through his new clean lifestyle.
    James DeGale with Eddie Hearn in 2015
    The boxing promoter has been on a health kick over the past 18 month
    Hearn has lost two stone through his new healthy lifestyleCredit: Instagram @kaipeacockfitness
    Hearn has been keeping his 1.3million Instagram followers up to date with his workouts in the gym.
    And in his latest, he posed in a grey vest and looked like a lean, mean, fighting machine.
    So much that one fan reacted: “He will be fighting in misfits soon.”
    Another said: “What a transformation.”
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    One joked: “Shreddie Hearn.”
    Love Island star-turned boxing presenter Josh Denzel said: “Go on the boy!!!!”
    The 44-year-old recently embarked on a demanding ten-week workout programme to get in shape and now feels better than ever.
    And he even copied UFC boss Dana White’s gruelling 72-hour fast without food, living off just electrolytes and water.
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    He told Men’s Health UK: “When I wake up in the morning, I go into the bathroom and I get a glimpse of myself and go, ‘F**king hell yeah,’ and that’s good enough.
    “That makes me feel great for the day.”
    Eddie Hearn left dripping blood after suffering injury while celebrating boxing star’s win
    Hearn’s outlook has completely changed as he focuses on improving his fitness even further.
    He added: “Right now, physically, I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life, and I’m 44 years old.
    “I’m excited to see what’s going to happen in six months, what’s going to happen in 12 months, what’s going to happen in three years.”
    Fans joked Hearn will be fighting on Misfits soonCredit: instagram @kaipeacockfitness More

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    Shocking moment Jack Catterall grabs Josh Taylor by the NECK and aims slap at rival in explosive face-off

    JACK CATTERALL grabbed Josh Taylor by the neck during their explosive first face-off.Tempers flared between the boxing rivals ahead of their highly-anticipated rematch in April.
    Josh Taylor shoved Jack Catterall after he grabbed his neckCredit: Reuters
    The rivals clashed during an explosive first face-offCredit: Reuters

    Taylor controversially won their previous meeting via split decision in February 2022 to defend his light-welterweight world titles.
    The pair are now set to settle their rivalry at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on April 27.
    Ahead of the bout, a press conference was held in Edinburgh on Monday.
    The tense press conference went back and forth with insults before Manchester’s 30-year-old Catterall said Taylor “can’t even see straight”.
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    The 33-year-old Tartan Tornado hit back with x-rated insults and shouts of “rat”.
    And when they were posed close together for a photo opportunity, Taylor lashed out his arms and shoved Catterall backwards.
    The Scot placed a hand on his opponent’s waist before Catterall reached out for Taylor’s throat.
    And then there was a rapid move from southpaw Taylor and a security separation.
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    After Taylor landed the most significant shove, he shouted out “I can see straight now can’t I?”
    Broadcasters DAZN called for another stare-down with promoter Eddie Hearn involved.
    [embedded content]
    But Catterall lashed out first this time and the pair were separated until the second leg in Manchester on Tuesday. 
    Taylor said: “the guy is obviously riled up, he tried to put his hands on me.
    “He is trying to wind me up but he doesn’t have the brains to do it.”
    But Catterall disagreed and again suggested his foe was not fully fit, saying: “He has been in hiding for two years, I’ve not been able to find him.
    “He came out today but he didn’t look too clever.”
    Taylor controversially beat Catterall via split decision in 2022Credit: Reuters
    Catterall traded insults with his opponent from across the stageCredit: Reuters
    Catterall was handed his first professional loss in their first meeting two years ago.
    El Gato left Taylor with two cuts by his left eye and knocked him down, but was only given the nod by one of the three judges.
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    Both fighters were deducted points during the bout, which also had a heated build-up between the long-term rivals.
    Taylor, who was also unbeaten at the time of the first fight, lost his WBO light-welterweight title to Teofimo Lopez in June last year. More